Google pours $50m into real estate auctions

Google Capital has poured $50 million into Auction.com, valuing the online real-estate marketplace at $1.2 billion.

According to an Auction.com press release, the tech giant subsidiary funds and invests in a number of corporate ventures -- Auction.com being the fourth. It follows minority-stake investments in Renaissance Learning, Lending Club and Survey Monkey.

Google Capital, led by the former leader of Google's corporate division David Lawee, has committed $300 million to the fund for this year, according to Wall Street Journal sources.

A representative from Google Capital will join the firms’s Board of Directors and another will take a board observer position.

Often described as an "E-Bay for real estate," Auction.com says that over $7 billion worth of both commercial and residential real estate deals were conducted across the platform last year.

"Auction.com has quietly built one of the largest marketplaces on the web,” Lawee said. "We think Auction.com can fundamentally change how real estate, and particularly commercial real estate, can be bought and sold, leveling the playing field for smaller investors."

The fresh funding will be put towards product expansion, marketing and mobile development.